Sunday:       Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Date:         January 20, 2013
Year:         C
The readings: [Is. 62:1-5; 1 Cor. 12:4-11; John 2:1-12]
The message:  The bridegroom rejoices over the bride.
Prepared by:  Catholic Doors Ministry
Total words:  1676

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My brothers and sisters in Christ, welcome to today's celebration of the Holy Mass that commemorates the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time. Today's Readings from the Holy Scriptures reveal to us that the Lord God rejoices in the Holy Catholic Church that has been instituted on earth by Jesus Christ Himself through the grace of the Heavenly Father and the power of the Holy Spirit. As you will shortly perceive, in the eyes of God, the Holy Catholic Church is the Bride of God.

Today's First Reading was taken from Chapter Sixty-Two of the Book of Isaiah. This particular Chapter has to do with the vindication and salvation of Zion. Zion, a Mount within the Holy City of Jerusalem, had found favour in the eyes of God. The Lord God promised that through His mercy, the past sins of Zion would be absolved. In other words, Zion was about to be justified.

Prior to those days, God had remained silent for a long period of time because of the sins of His disobedient children. Their prayers were no longer being answered. It was as if God no longer existed, as if He had abandoned them.

But, all of a sudden, something happened. God spoke to His people. He said that He would no longer remain silent. Going to the complete opposite, He would no longer rest until such time as His people had been justified as if it was a new beginning. God would no longer rest until the salvation of Jerusalem shined like a burning torch. In other words, He would not rest until it has become obvious to everyone that God's chosen people had been justified and saved.

Now history tells us that the Lord's chosen people had stumbled through the coming of Jesus Christ as God incarnated. As such, it appeared that the final glory of Jerusalem was yet to come. On this subject, St. Paul says, "So I ask, have they stumbled so as to fall? By no means! But through their stumbling salvation has come to the Gentiles..." [Rom. 11:11] "As regards the gospel they are enemies of God for your sake; but as regards election they are beloved for the sake of their ancestors; for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable." [Rom. 11:28-29]

The stumbling of God's chosen people was all part of the progressive Divine Plan of salvation for the Gentiles. Through them, the grace of God was opened to us.

During the First Reading, it was stated that all the kings would see the glory of Jerusalem and it shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give it. Indeed, the kings and rulers of every nation have seen the glory of Jerusalem. They have come to the knowledge and understanding that Jesus Christ was the promised Messiah, that He triumphantly entered Jerusalem as the King of kings, that He was crucified outside the gates of Jerusalem as the Lamb of God for the salvation of mankind, and that the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost.

All of these events came to pass for the fulfillment of God's promise. Through these events, the invisible Kingdom of God was instituted on earth, having its beginning in Jerusalem. All of these events came to pass so the world would recognize the new name of the Body of Christ on earth, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. For the Holy Catholic Church which has its seat in Rome is the visible reflection of the invisible Body of Christ which has its seat in Jerusalem, its Ruler being Jesus Christ, the King of kings.

Indeed, the Holy Catholic Church has become a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord and a royal diadem in the hand of our God. The Lord God delights in her. The joy of the Lord is in the establishment of His eternal Kingdom. While Satan had the power to seduce our first parents to capture the first Kingdom of God in order to become the Prince of this world, he can no longer harm the new Kingdom that is being established. This Kingdom, the new Jerusalem, populated by the righteous angels and saints, is continuously growing towards the fullness of the glory of God. The new Kingdom cannot be destroyed. It is eternal and spiritual in nature. While the human nature can experience death, the spiritual nature cannot experience it! The eternal joy and peace of the righteous ones is guaranteed by God Himself.

What is the relationship that God promised to have towards His Church. In the Sacred Words of God, the Holy Catholic Church is called to become His spouse. When we consider the sacredness of the Sacrament of marriage, we only begin to perceive the tremendous love and loyalty that God has for us as living members of His Church.

My brothers and sisters, the joy of the Master Builder is in His Church. The joy of the Lord is in us, the living stones who build up the Holy Catholic Church for His eternal glory.

To build up the Bride of Christ, God has sent His Spirit on Pentecost Day. For the common good of all, the Holy Spirit freely distributes gifts to the members of the Body. While there are a number of spiritual manifestations, all come from the one Divine source, the Spirit, the Lord, and the Father. All graces are given primarily for the benefit of the Church.

The spiritual manifestations fall into three categories. These are the gifts, the ministries and the activities. The gifts are attributed to the Holy Spirit who has been sent by the Lord Jesus and the Father. The ministries are attributed to the Lord Jesus, who was sent as God incarnated to minister and to serve. The activities are attributed to God the Father who is the source of all being and activity.

There are nine gifts from the Holy Spirit for the building up of the Holy Catholic Church. These are the utterance of wisdom, the utterance of knowledge and faith. Then there are the gifts of healing, the working of miracles and prophecy. These are followed by the gifts of discerning the spirits, speaking in tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. As the members of the human body exist for the goods of the whole, these gifts are directed to the welfare of the Church.

Today's Reading from the Gospel of John reveals to us one of the events that came to pass to manifest to us that the promise of God the Father was being fulfilled in the fullness of time. A few days ago, we celebrated the Baptism of the Lord Jesus. That special moment, when the voice of God the Father was heard from Heaven and the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus in the form of a Dove, marked the beginning of the public ministry of Jesus Christ on earth.

Up until then, Jesus had not done anything extraordinary to prove His Divinity. But at the Wedding of Cana, it was different. That was when Jesus performed His first public miracle. By transforming the element of water, by changing the water into wine, Jesus Christ proved beyond any doubt that He was God. He executed an act that cannot be matched by any human being.

My Christian brothers and sisters, the Wedding of Cana was prophetic of the celebration of the Holy Mass. During the "Preparation of the Holy Gifts," the celebrant says, "By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share in our humanity." These words remind us of the Wedding of Cana.

Both, the celebration of the Holy Mass and the Wedding of Cana consist of a great Feast during which time the bride and bridegroom are present. Every time we participate in the celebration of the Holy Mass, in spirit, we witness the delight of the Heavenly Father who rejoices in His Bride, the Holy Catholic Church.

If I may also add, the serving of the old wine first and the new wine last, is a progressive symbol of our creation. Because of the disobedience of our first parents, we are all called to experience spiritual death. But, thanks to the Redeeming Blood of Christ, we received a new life. Through the Sacrament of Baptism, we died with Christ, we were buried with Christ, and we resurrected with Christ as new creations. The old has passed away, the new has arrived! The former has died, the new creation is a member of the Body of Christ.

The new life that we have received in Christ is of the godly seed. [1 Jn. 3:9] It is no wonder that God rejoices in His Bride of which we are living members. As the Lord God rejoices in His Holy Church, He also rejoices in each and everyone of us. Why? Because, precious in God's sight, and like living stones, we have been called to be built into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood. [1 Pet. 2:5]

My brothers and sisters in Christ, this week, let us set aside a few moments here and there so we may reflect upon the blessings that we have received through our Lord Jesus as members of the precious Bride of God. Let us not take for grant the spiritual gifts that have been given to us for the common good of all. Let us reflect upon our active involvement in the Body of Christ and pray that by the grace of God, we may always persevere in our living faith as shining lights.

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The readings...

[The readings were taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible (C) 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the United States of America.]

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First Reading...

"For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her vindication shines out like the dawn, and her salvation like a burning torch.

The nations shall see your vindication, and all the kings your glory; and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give. You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

You shall no more be termed 'Forsaken,' and your land shall no more be termed 'Desolate'; but you shall be called 'My Delight is in Her,' and your land "married'; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married.

For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your builder marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.'" [Is. 62:1-5]

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Second Reading...

"Bothers and sisters: There are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.

To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.

All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses." [1 Cor. 12:4-11]

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Gospel Reading...

"On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.

When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, 'They have no wine.' And Jesus said to her, 'Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.' His mother said to the servants, 'Do whatever he tells you.'

Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding about a hundred litres. Jesus said to the servants, 'Fill the jars with water.' And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, 'Now draw some out, and take it to the chief stewart.' So they took it.

When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, 'Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.'

Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him. After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples; and they remained there a few days." [John 2:1-12]

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